The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-01-13

which had been made by Congress tt
suppress the practice of polygamy
These efforts had been only partially
l successful, owing to the difficulty of OBJ
tanning proof of polygamous marriages
Congress should take the matter in hand
not in the spiritof persecution but with
a determination that the evil anc
wrong of polygamy should cease. Il
was now growing and was not confined
to the boundaries of Utah. Its friend
the legislature of Utah, would not
} strange it, but Congress must. and
fortunately Congress eou'd. It q the
! legal power under the Constitu lion
and it had the means at hand to exer-
else it. He fully believed, not only that
the bill would overthrow polygamy
but that if supplemented BY the pro-
posed constitutional amendment it
would relieve the country from 81 fear
OF 1t, and its cognatez evils. The Nor
mon Church disposed OF life and liberty.
1t dictated the laws, and in the name of
\ religlon.lt imposed hepractlce OF poiyg-
any,. This people and this church d.
fed the moral sense Of civilization, and
| were antagonistic to the principles and
institutions of the republic. But while
he heartily favored the main features of
the pending bid, be was utterly opposed
to one provision, that aboiishing female
suffrage in the Territory OF Utah. He
stood appalled, at the irSt suggestion
of taking the electoral franchise from a
considerable class of people accustomed
to its use. Would the precedent here
made be involved hereafter, and if SO,
in what direction? But though pro-
testing against this provision, he would
waive his objection and heartily sup
port the bill.
Mr.. Caine (Utab) earnestly opposed
! the measure as un-Democratic, I'M
American, and wanton1y destructive of
human rights, and because it set at
naught the immutable principles upon
which the common rights of man were
| fou uded, and turned the Mormons
and their church over to Unsuitable
spoilers. He skeiched the settlement
| of Utah by the Mormons, depicted
the prosecutions to which they had
been subjected, and highly eulogiz ed
| the Mormon people for their industry,
intelligence and homes y. Passing GA to
the constitutional discussion of the
provisions of the bill, he declared that
the prescription of the test oath as a
prerequisite TO a man exercising the
right of suffrage was not only odiOus
TO every American, but a clear viola
ton of the letter and spirit of the con-
| stitution. 1t might be said that the
right of suffrage was not expressly Sc
cured by the constitution, but he con-
tended that while a legislature
might declare THE right of suff-
rage forfeited by reason of the
commission of crime, it could not
! infiCt punishment on man because
he would not swear that he would never
after be guilty of a certain offense.
This provision of the bill was pre-
pc ferrous, because it emasculated the
citizenship of a man without the due
| process Ct law. He appealed to- the
House to consider well beforA it as
sented to the monstrous propositions
contained in the bill He knew, too
pwell, the influences that were at work
to accomplish the passage OF the mea-
sure. He realized that the air had
been made pregnant with base
less calumnies, SANDER and inDumer-
able falSehoods, ceasl5ssly concoCted
! and persistently disseminated. Re
| ligi0us bigotry and influences were
arraigned against his peoole. Political
necessity, cant, hypocrisy, and all
/ kindred, PeCksniffianism jOiL ed in the
| hue and cry. Platform, pulpit and
/ press were the mighty enoines for the
!
! batteries were directed constantly and
with full force upon the Mormons. He
! knew that it was Well-nigh impossi-
/ bic for any man in public life
TO even protest against a meas
! ure, no matter how monstrous,
| how unconstitutional. that was
aimed at MormOniSm. 10 was said that
! this bill was aimed al polygamy. II so,
why not give the laws already enacted
and so vigorously, nay, so ruthleSsly
enforced, an opportunity to work their
legitimate effects? Ii this bill become
q law, it would place the Mormon peo-
pie at the mercy of the men whose OBJ
Ject was 10 plumber them OF all
their earthly possessions and drive
them from their homes. In all
candor, he firmly believed that
= law directing general "a lawry
against. all who did not spubhcly re.
Hounce and reCant their belief in the
Mormon Church, would be merciful IN
comparison with the effects OF the pro-
posed lswI 1t was not thei morals OF
the Mormon people or the contamInat
ing influence thereof, on the public,
that was at the bottom of the persecu- 4
ton his people had to endure. Itwas
prepOS ferrous nonsense to talk about
the Mormon blot " on the civilization
OF the age. II Congress were 10 under
take to eradicate the bots upon our
civilization. it would have its hands
full. There was scant probability
of the 'canker of Mormon polyg
amy" endangeripg the morals OF the
world in the presence of such a wide
spread and general disqualification OF
morals. as are depicted in Van Oettin-
gers moral statistics published IN 1882
The Mormon Church establishment was
the thing aimed at IN ali this onslaught
upon the Mormon people. l. was the
religious problem which Congress was
endeayoring to deal with in this legis-
lation. The men who were here from
Utah cIamoriDg for the disfranchise-
ment of the Mormon people were not
afraid OF the contamination OF their
own or their families morals. They
knew, as all the world knew, that s
purer, more orderly, upright, God fear.
ing and God-seTY'ng community did not
exist on the earth than the exclusively
Mormon settlements in Utah. 1t was
simply because the minority could not.
SInder the mocratic-American local
government, rule the majority that
these men were elamoring for the dis
franchisement of his re ople. The House